Adrian Beltre has helped the Texas Rangers win a lot of games over the years. On Saturday Forrest Lamp Jersey , he found a surprising way to spark his team to its seventh straight victory. Beltre and Robinson Chirinos homered to help Yovani Gallardo win for the first time since last July as the Texas Rangers beat the Minnesota Twins 9-6 on Saturday.
The home run wasn’t anything unusual — he’s got 466 of those his 21-year major league career. But he led off the second inning by beating out a ground ball to shortstop, no easy feat for a 39-year-old who has spent almost a month on the disabled list this year with a strained left hamstring.
The infield single led to a six-run rally to help the Rangers overcome an early 2-0 deficit.
”Speed kills – don’t you know that?” a grinning Beltre said. ”Over the last week or so, we’ve been able to find out how to get guys on, and now we’re getting more consistent in bringing those guys in.”
Eddie Rosario homered and drove in four runs for the Twins, while Logan Morrison also homered and Mitch Garver had three hits. Minnesota lost its third straight when it couldn’t overcome a short start from veteran Jake Odorizzi (3-5).
The Twins did rally for three runs in the ninth and had the tying run at the plate with two outs. But Rangers closer Keone Kela struck out Morrison with the bases loaded to end the game, earning his 18th save in 18 chances.
Gallardo (1-0) was making his second start for Texas after opening the year with Cincinnati. He promptly fell behind 2-0 just five pitches into the game before turning it around and pitching into the sixth inning.
Joe Mauer led off the bottom of the first with a sharp single to left. Then Rosario hit the first pitch he saw into the right-field seats for his 17th home run of the season.
But Gallardo settled down, at one point retiring 12 of 13. Morrison’s two-run homer with one out in the sixth inning ended Gallardo’s day, but he earned his first victory since July 29, 2017, when he was pitching for Seattle.
Odorizzi retired the side in order in the first inning, but the Rangers knocked him out in a six-run second. The big blows were two-run singles by Delino DeShields and Nomar Mazara.
Beltre’s second hit of the inning finally spelled the end for Odorizzi Ryan Jensen Jersey , who lasted just 1 2/3 innings. It was the shortest start of his career, other than a one-inning start in 2017 that he was forced to leave due to an injury.
”It just started to unravel,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. ”A couple guys got on, then he slipped on the mound, then he hit a guy, and even later in the inning after he’d given up some, we still had chances. He got ahead of Mazara 0-2, Beltre he got ahead of, but we just couldn’t finish.”
Odorizzi, the Twins’ opening day starter, has seen his ERA climb steadily in his last six outings. He’s allowed 25 earned runs in 25 2/3 innings over that stretch Ahkello Witherspoon Jersey , driving his ERA to a season-high 4.97.
”It’s upsetting and frustrating . It’s not something I take lightly.” Odorizzi said. ”I take a lot of pride in getting guys out. Trust me, I’m more frustrated about this than anybody in this clubhouse. This has been one of the tougher stretches in my short big league career.”
HIT BATTER BEEF
Rangers 3B Jurickson Profar was hit by pitches three times on Saturday, tying a team record that he also matched just two weeks ago. But the Rangers were not happy with the circumstances surrounding the third time it happened.
Profar stole second base in the fourth inning when the Rangers were leading 9-2. The next time Profar came to bat, Twins reliever Addison Reed threw three inside fastballs, finally hitting him in the leg with the third one.
”I thought the intent there was excessive, especially they tried to dial him up three different times,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. ”The guy’s playing baseball hard. I guess you can just look at it that there’s a difference in what they’re focusing in on and what we’re focusing in on.”
Molitor didn’t try to rationalize Reed’s approach to Profar, but he also didn’t deny that the dugout took notice when Profar stole a base with a seven-run lead.
”The thought process between the unwritten rules of the game is not clearly defined,” Molitor said. ”What I might think and what he might think might be different things. I was surprised that (Profar) ran with the score the way it was, when he did. And getting hit there was something that Banister felt wasn’t appropriate.”
ROMERO TO ROCHESTER
After the game the Twins optioned rookie RHP Fernando Romero to Triple-A Rochester, with a corresponding move to be announced on Sunday. Romero Odell Beckham Jr Jersey , who made his major league debut on May 2 and won his first two starts, is 3-3 with a 4.38 ERA in 10 starts.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rangers: 1B Joey Gallo left the game in the third inning with left hamstring tightness. He was replaced by Ronald Guzman.
Twins: 3B Eduardo Escobar returned to the starting lineup for the first time since he was hit by a pitch on the right elbow in the first inning of Thursday’s game against Boston.
UP NEXT
Rangers: RHP Bartolo Colon (4-4, 4.91 ERA) returns to Target Field to face his former teammates in the series finale Sunday afternoon. Colon went 5-6 in 15 starts for the Twins last season as he helped them clinch the second AL wild card spot.
Twins: RHP Jose Berrios (7-5, 3.51) will be looking for his first victory since June 7 as Minnesota tries to avoid being swept. In his last two starts he’s allo Marco Gonzales was looking for some retribution against the Kansas City Royals.
Gonzales (8-5) pitched a six-hitter for his first career complete game in the Seattle Mariners‘ 4-1 victory on Friday. The left-hander struck out seven and didn’t issue a walk while throwing just 96 pitches.
”My last outing against these guys didn’t go great – my second start of the year, I think – so I was looking for some payback, too. So I was a little more amped than usual,” Gonzales said.
Mitch Haniger and Mike Zunino homered for Seattle.
Gonzales had been chased after just 2 1/3 innings of what became a 10-0 loss on April 9, but Friday’s start was much different. Gonzalez, who’d never taken a game into the eighth inning until going 7 1/3 innings against Tampa Bay earlier this month, didn’t need more than 13 pitches to finish any inning against the Royals.
”He has a lot of confidence right now because everything that’s happened to him this year, he’s earned Marshawn Lynch Jersey ,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said.
Whit Merrifield singled to lead off the game and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Rosell Herrera. Gonzales picked Merrifield off second base to erase the baserunner and would retire nine straight batters before running into a spot of trouble in the fourth.
Herrera doubled off the glove of left fielder Denard Span with one out. An infield single from Mike Moustakas put runners on the corners, but Gonzales induced an inning-ending double play from Salvador Perez to keep the Royals off the board.
”The way that we’ve been playing and the fun that we’ve been having, I can’t wait for my fifth day to come,” Gonzales said. ”To be able to go out there and contribute in a positive way and have these guys rally behind you is pretty incredible.”
Royals starter Ian Kennedy (1-8) retired the first 10 batters he faced before running into trouble in the fourth. Jean Segura reached on an infield single to give Seattle its first baserunner of the game. Haniger followed with a two-run blast over the center-field wall to give the Mariners a 2-0 lead.
After fouling off three straight pitches with a 2-2 count, Zunino blasted a solo home run two rows from the top of the upper deck in left field to extend the Mariners’ lead to 3-0 in the fifth.
Kennedy left after five innings due to tightness in his left side that surfaced on the last pitch to Zunino.
”I felt it grab,” Kennedy said. ”And then the rest of the inning it stayed tight. The last couple pitches I was compensating for it, so I knew … the right thing to do is to say something.”
Segura added a two-out RBI single in the seventh inning off Brandon Maurer to give Seattle a 4-0 advantage.
Adalberto Mondesi doubled to open the ninth and Moustakas delivered a two-out single to center field to drive home the only run of the game for the Royals.
BONIFACIO RETURNS
Outfielder Jorge Bonifacio was recalled and back in the lineup for the Royals on Friday after completing an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. Bonifacio was suspended in March after testing positive for Boldenone, which is an anabolic androgenic steroid. Bonifacio started the game in left field and went 0 for 3 with a strikeout. He hit .255 with 17 home runs and 40 RBIs in 113 games as a rookie in 2017. OF Ryan Goins was designated for assignment on Thursday to clear a roster spot. ”It was a tough time down there in Arizona. But I learned from it. It’s never going to happen again,” Bonifacio said.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: C Perez was back in the lineup after exiting Wednesday’s game in Milwaukee in the ninth inning after taking a foul ball off his right leg.
Mariners: 3B Kyle Seager was back in the lineup after making only a pinch-hit appearance in Baltimore on Sunday. Seager has an ”avulsion fracture” in his big toe and was given the day off in the field to rest. It’s not expected to require a disabled list stint and Seager is planning to play through the injury.
UP NEXT
Royals: RHP Jason Hammel (2-9) will make his 17th start of the season on Saturday. Hammel has lost four straight starts and has allowed at least three earned runs in three of the four outings.
Mariners: RHP Felix Hernandez (7-6) will take the hill for the 18th time this season as he looks to continue a run of strong starts. After a rough first two months of the season, Hernandez has allowed just one earned run in three of his five starts in June.Adidas Shea Weber Jersey

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